Shock news: Burrows agrees with UCI

BMX rules, says the designer of Chris Boardman's 1994 gold medal winning Lotus carbon monocoque pursuit bike. The track kilo time trial is "boring" and anybody that is turned on to cycling by a 1000m sprint can't buy the bike in the shops. Now, BMX bikes on the other hand...

Mike Burrows has, famously, never seen eye to eye with the UCI. Its technical committee prefers muscles over lightweight, go-faster, esoteric bicycle designs. Burrows wants to keep pushing the boundaries of bicycle design.

However, he now finds himself in rare agreement with the UCI. He's happy the UCI has chosen to jettison from the Olympics the kilometre time trial.

"It's good that some disciplines get dropped and others come in. It keep things fresh. Things move on."

Pulling himself away from the manufacture of his 8Freight work-bike, Burrows said the kilometre time trial is an "especially sad event, boring and meaningless, done by specialists only. Does anybody from the Tour de France ride the track? One or two maybe but it's not like the old days when pros would winter on the track."

He's glad the kilo is being replaced by BMX.

"BMX racing is fantastic, really exciting to watch. Crowds are going to love it, there are thrills and spills, it's a gladatorial contest."

And BMX is more "real world" than "niche" track events, said Burrows.

"Having BMX in the Olympics is going to be better marketing for cycling than any amount of track racing. You can get turned on by BMX racing and go out to the shops and buy the same bike you've just been watching. You can't go to a bike shop and buy a kilo bike."

"Personally, I'd take cycling out of the Olympics altogether. That is until the UCI allows recumbent racing. Can you imagine Lance Armstrong on a low-profile recumbent? Whizzy, whizzy."